Police Department Promotes 45 Officers On St. Croix

ST. CROIX — Family and friends of 45 police officers gathered at Government House here on Monday morning to witness a promotional ceremony held for their loved ones, as 7 officers were promoted to captain, 12 to lieutenant and 26 to sergeant.

The event, a similar of which will be held in St. Thomas on Tuesday with roughly the same number of officers being promoted, was the first promotional event for V.I.P.D. officers since the Mapp administration took office; the administration has so far held four graduation ceremonies that has increased the V.I.P.D.’s manpower.

During his talk, Governor Kenneth Mapp said that with just about 300 officers making up the entire V.I.P.D., the promotion of what will be 90 officers to supervisory ranks represents almost a third of the department.

The governor said that the government had been spending nearly $18 million annually in overtime, a model that was unsustainable, he said. Mr. Mapp said that asking officers to work an average of 80 hours weekly “is not something that can be done over and over and over.” The territory’s leader then committed to supporting the force and ensuring that it becomes one of the best police departments in the U.S.

“This department will become one of the rising stars of police departments in the United States of America, because we will support our officers, our supervisors, our police commissioner and the leadership of the Virgin Islands Police Department to deliver to the people of the Virgin Islands law enforcement service and protection second to none,” Mr. Mapp said. He thanked officers who show up to work daily and perform — sometimes under difficult circumstances.

“You will continue to get our support, you will continue to receive the services and equipment you need, and in short, we will have your back,” he added.

Commissioner Delroy Richards said today’s ceremony represented many months of discussions and planning between the V.I.P.D. and the various bargaining units. He later told reporters that the promotions would cost the V.I.P.D. less than $300,000 annually territory-wide for the officers, adding that the raises — some officers might not even see increases in their salaries — were minuscule at best.

“It’s not really a great increase; some of them will receive a couple hundred dollars, some will receive like $1200. Their salary is already set, and their pay plan set. They have not negotiated contracts in years for salaries, so the salaries are basically frozen. Some of them might not even benefit money-wise from the promotion. It’s just an advancement that gives them the authority to make certain decisions,” Mr. Richards said. He said the police department had already budgeted for the promotions.

The commissioner also said that the officers’ contract mandates that tenor determines pay. “A new sergeant will not make the same like a sergeant that’s been there for 15 or 20 years,” he said.

Even so, the commissioner said the promotions were a longtime coming. “I think it’s deserving, they’ve waited years for it, some of them,” he said. Mr. Richards also said that the promotions would help with the V.I.P.D.’s protracted consent decree.

In his remarks, St. Croix Police Chief Winsbut McFarland struck a more stern tone.

“The old saying that the higher you go, the less you do, is just that, an old saying. As managers and supervisors, in your new positions, you will be held responsible for managing personnel and resources. You’re expected to lead and guide your subordinates into meeting the objectives of the department, to which you will be held accountable for. And for those of you who made your calls one way or the other to influence your assignment, rest assured [that] all of you here today to be promoted, your hands will be held to the fire. You will perform regardless [of] your assignment. The days of laying back doing nothing while waiting to be paid are gone,” Chief McFarland said.

Ernice Gilbert
I wear many hats, I suppose, but the one which fits me best would be journalism, second to that would be radio personality, thirdly singer/songwriter and down the line. I've been the Editor-In-Chief at my videogames website, Gamesthirst, for over 5 years, writing over 7,000 articles and more than 2 million words.
I'm also very passionate about where I live, the United States Virgin Islands, and I'm intent on making it a better place by being resourceful and keeping our leaders honest. VI Consortium was birthed out of said desire, hopefully my efforts bear fruit. Reach me at ernice@viconsortium.com.

I congratulate all of them as I know many of them and they are very good dedicated officers. This one pictured here, I grew up with him and always knew he would be a respectful young man! Kudos to all!

cruciancounsel

never mind him being totally out of uniform right?

Chief

Isn’t Mr Coniero the Deputy Chief????

cruciancounsel

yes, that is a political position that can be held by the lowest ranking officer if so be it.

Dummies Job

How much of these promoted officers have a college degree or an IQ of over 100??? That’s our problem in the USVI, friendship over education. Do they know what is McPay?

slandercorner

harsh

(also true)

a VIPD officer with a college degree? LMAO.

cruciancounsel

there are actually quite a few, but they don’t get the top jobs.

cruciancounsel

None, except maybe Mr. Moorhead.

vichik

What year did Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, or Frank Lloyd Wright graduate from a college or university? I’ll wait…..Whilst I’m waiting on that answer, maybe you can answer this one: what is the IQ of any of the aforementioned officers? Once again, I’ll wait…..

Dummies Job

What percent of the population do these people you mentioned hold? I’ll wait for it. …… I’d bet your three idols have an IQ associated with a Mensa. BTW they all void IQ if no one noticed the US flag upside down on the officer being pinned. Bet your high IQ made you missed that one. …… Upside Down FLAG is also my post.

vichik

You are asking that to say what exactly, you’re the one who brought the officers IQ and degree (or lack there of) into the discussion. As a retired military verteran, the upside down flag was the first thing I noticed on his uniform, but I chose not to comment on it.

MediaXpresso

Great news, But meaningless unless they have a plan to stop crime and killings. otherwise its a waste of time. What have they achieved or crimes have they solved for that promotion? Law enforcement are the only ones who think a uniform and badge make them invincible gods.

thecoptrainer

Congratulations to the officers that worked hard for their promotions.
But here we go again. One third of the officers of this small force are supervisors? Think about it. One officer supervising by rank every TWO officers. Just crazy. This is a simple ploy to satisfy the consent decree. Makes no sense in how it was done. How did the Deputy Chief be promoted to Lieutenant ? Isn’t that a demotion? That’s not right.
You will soon have more sargents than officers working each day. Can you see the chaos when one Sargent tells another what to do? ” We the same man. Do it your self” The need for restructuring the department is badly needed, but again the plan is flawed. SMH

cruciancounsel

total joke. Its all about stroking people’s egos with big titles, etc. the Peter Principle is in full effect in the USVI.